--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And we, spectators always, everywhere…" description: "\"And we, spectators always, everywhere, looking at, never out of, everything! It fills us. We arrange it. It collapses. We re-arrange it, and collapse o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/rainer-maria-rilke-193_attitude_and-we-spectators-always-everywhere-look_3227246.jpg" --- # And we, spectators always, everywhere, looking at, never… ![“And we, spectators always, everywhere, looking at, never out of, everything! It fills us. We arrange it. It collapses. We re-arrange it, and collapse ourselves. Who's turned us round like this, so that we always, do what we may, retain the attitude of someone who's departing? Just as he, on the…” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/rainer-maria-rilke-193_attitude_and-we-spectators-always-everywhere-look_3227246.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/rainer-maria-rilke-193_attitude_and-we-spectators-always-everywhere-look_3227246.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/rainer-maria-rilke-193_attitude_and-we-spectators-always-everywhere-look_3227246.jpg) > “And we, spectators always, everywhere, looking at, never out of, everything! It fills us. We arrange it. It collapses. We re-arrange it, and collapse ourselves. Who's turned us round like this, so that we always, do what we may, retain the attitude of someone who's departing? Just as he, on the last hill, that shows him all his valley for the last time, will turn and stop and linger, we live our lives, for ever taking leave.” [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We constantly observe and rearrange life, causing both creation and self-destruction, yet we cling to departure. **In simple terms:** Life is a cycle of observing, reshaping, and letting go. Key Takeaway Embrace change, let go. Themes existence observation transience Mood melancholic contemplative Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - creative projects - relationship dynamics - career pivots - personal growth Key Concepts impermanence self‑construction Questions to Reflect On - What patterns do you repeat? - How can you release without loss? A Different Perspective Clinging to past roles can hinder renewal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Attitude Departing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude-departing-6090473/) [Collapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapse/) [Collapse Turned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapse-turned-6090472/) [Collapses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapses-497302/) [Departing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/departing/) [Hills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hills/) [Last time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-time/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Spectators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spectators/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Valleys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valleys/) ## Related quotes > [Be ahead of all farewells as if they were behind you, like the winter that is just departing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/be-ahead-of-all-farewells-as-if-they-were-behind-you-like-the-winter/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Our valleys may be filled with foes and tears; but we can lift our eyes to the hills to see God and the angels,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/our-valleys-may-be-filled-with-foes-and-tears-but-we-can-lift-our/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“It is almost as if you were frantically constructing another world while the world that you live in dissolves beneath your feet, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/it-is-almost-as-if-you-were-frantically-constructing-another-world/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Now we are intimately locked together. You get swine flu in Mexico; it’s a problem for Charles de Gaulle Airport 24 hours later. Lehman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/now-we-are-intimately-locked-together-you-get-swine-flu-in-mexico-it/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Fear collapses all of our concerns down to the present situation, and prevents us from thinking long-term or rationally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-johnson/fear-collapses-all-of-our-concerns-down-to-the-present-situation-and/) [Bryan Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-johnson/) > [“In fact, these possibility collapses happen at the level of elementary particles, but they happen in just the same way: one moment several things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/in-fact-these-possibility-collapses-happen-at-the-level-of-elementary/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [If the financial system collapses, it's really, really hard to put it back together again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/if-the-financial-system-collapses-it-s-really-really-hard-to-put-it/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [What's old collapses, times change, and new life blossoms in the ruins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/what-s-old-collapses-times-change-and-new-life-blossoms-in-the-ruins/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [“The pyramid is the pillar that holds power aloft. If it wavers,everything collapses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-kadar/the-pyramid-is-the-pillar-that-holds-power-aloft-if-it-wavers/) [Ismail Kadare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-kadar/) > [Humanity is the keystone that holds nations and men together. When that collapses, the whole structure crumbles. This is as true of baseball teams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-mack/humanity-is-the-keystone-that-holds-nations-and-men-together-when/) [Connie Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-mack/) > [The work of memory collapses time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/the-work-of-memory-collapses-time/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [“Time collapses, giving way to eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-torridon/time-collapses-giving-way-to-eternity/) [Daniel Torridon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-torridon/) > [What good is religion if it collapses under calamity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/what-good-is-religion-if-it-collapses-under-calamity/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [Time collapses and expands like an erratic accordion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bel-kaufman/time-collapses-and-expands-like-an-erratic-accordion/) [Bel Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bel-kaufman/) > [A nation without borders is like a house without walls - it collapses. And that is what is going to happen to our wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brewer/a-nation-without-borders-is-like-a-house-without-walls-it-collapses/) [Jan Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brewer/) ## More by Rainer Maria Rilke > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Out of infinite longings rise finite deeds like weak fountains, falling back just in time and trembling. And yet, what otherwise remains silent, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/out-of-infinite-longings-rise-finite-deeds-like-weak-fountains/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“I love the dark hours of my being. My mind deepens into them. There I can find, as in old letters, the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-love-the-dark-hours-of-my-being-my-mind-deepens-into-them-there-i/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“A complete sharing between two people is an impossibility and whenever it seems, nevertheless, to exist, it is a narrowing, a mutual agreement which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/a-complete-sharing-between-two-people-is-an-impossibility-and/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“But this is what ... people are so often and disastrously wrong in doing: they (who by their very nature are impatient) fling themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-this-is-what-people-are-so-often-and-disastrously-wrong-in-doing/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“If there is nothing you can share with other people, try to be close to Things. Things will not abandon you. The nights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-there-is-nothing-you-can-share-with-other-people-try-to-be-close/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [To be here is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/to-be-here-is-immense/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Sin is the most wonderfully roundabout path to God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/sin-is-the-most-wonderfully-roundabout-path-to-god/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Swells, Marina? we ocean, depths, Marina? we sky!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/swells-marina-we-ocean-depths-marina-we-sky/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-point-of-marriage-is-not-to-create-a-quick-commonality-by-tearing/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [You life will find its own paths... and that they be good, rich, and wide is what I wish for you, more than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/you-life-will-find-its-own-paths-and-that-they-be-good-rich-and-wide/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [I do not want to be folded for where I am folded, there I am a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-do-not-want-to-be-folded-for-where-i-am-folded-there-i-am-a-lie/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/at-no-other-time-than-autumn-does-the-earth-let-itself-be-inhaled-in/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“That is why the sadness passes: the new presence inside us, the presence that has been added, has entered our heart, has gone into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/that-is-why-the-sadness-passes-the-new-presence-inside-us-the/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms, like books written in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/have-patience-with-everything-that-remains-unsolved-in-your-heart-try/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) [Explore all 861 Rainer Maria Rilke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## More Attitude quotes > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Don't judge me because I'm stupid. Don't judge me because I'm, mean. Don't judge me because I'm weird. Don't judge me for mistakes. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden-me/don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-stupid-don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-mean-don/) [Isaiah Harden (Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-harden-me/) > [Your feelings (mood) dictate your thought, your thought determines your attitude (reactions) and your attitude describes your lifestyle, so: be careful how you feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheye-hassan/your-feelings-mood-dictate-your-thought-your-thought-determines-your/) [Sheye Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheye-hassan/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [One genuine reason to feel jealous of my parents:-) I will never ever have a kid as awesome as their's...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-genuine-reason-to-feel-jealous-of-my-parents-i-will-never-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [My attitude it that you don't give in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-taylor/my-attitude-it-that-you-don-t-give-in/) [Phil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-taylor/) > [Transparency pertains to impartial behavior, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Inculcate transparency in attitude and experience a life free of controversy and blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/transparency-pertains-to-impartial-behavior-implies-openness/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 9,543 Attitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And we, spectators always, everywhere, looking at, never out of, everything! It fills us. We arrange it. It collapses. We re-arrange it, and collapse ourselves. 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